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[DING! Emergency Mission Activated
Mission: Survive the Ravine Predator Encounter
Objective 1: Assist in subduing the creature.
Objective 2: Remain undetected by any additional predators.
Reward: +1000 EXP | Stat Point + | Aura Boost: +100.
Failure Consequence: Death Level Injury.
Risk: HIGH ]
Kai's mandibles clicked involuntarily. "Of course there's a mission, he thought. There's always a damn mission when I'm about to die."
As the Shadow Spine Lurker lunged into the clearing, its segmented body bent like a scythe, tail lashing and cleaving a soldier cleanly in half. The soldier didn't even scream, he just cracked and crumpled, blood spraying across the mossy stones. Kai flinched back. His aura flared defensively. The system flashed again.
[Warning! Aura Spike Detected Nearby – Multiple Minor Entities Stirring Below Surface]
He flicked his antennae hard, sweeping for vibrations. It wasn't alone.
Vice Captain Vex roared a command: "Form V-Guard! Isolate the target! Maintain distance!"
The remaining soldiers spread out. Two carried glaive-spears pulsing with low-grade aura; they circled the creature while the ranged fighters peppered it with dart-bolts. It moved unnaturally fast, no wasted motion. Every miss was punished by a whip of its spiny tail or a lunge of mandibles that could split stone.
Kai activated Tiny Tank, his carapace immediately hardening with a translucent shimmer. -100 aura.
He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a thrashing leg, and shouted toward Vex. "There are more beneath the surface! It's not alone!"
Vex snarled but didn't look at him. "Then make yourself useful and deal with them, rookie!"
Another system alert hit Kai's mind like a hammer.
[DING! Sub-Mission Unlocked]
Title: Subterranean Surge
Objective: Eliminate or neutralize the hidden stalkers before they emerge.
Bonus: Early completion prevents squad flanking.
Timer: 03:00 minutes until emergence
Bonus Reward: Unlock Passive Trait – Deep Earth Sense (Detects buried threats) will be added to predator instinct.]
Kai's mandibles clenched. "Alright. Let's work."
He dropped into the shadow of a collapsed boulder, eyes narrowed, senses tuned. He activated Predator's Instinct, another 100 aura drained and immediately felt the pulse: five small lifeforms burrowing just below the moss carpet ground, circling the clearing. Their movements were syncing with the lurker's attacks.
They're coordinating, Kai realized. It's not a dumb beast, it's a pack leader.
He took a deep breath and whispered, "System. Show me the thinnest soil layer."
[DING! Scan Active… Done.
Highlighted Zone: 3.2 meters ahead – soil depth 6 inches – optimal breach point.]
Kai sprinted, leapt, and slammed down with all his strength. The impact cracked open a shallow burrow. A shrieking smaller spine-creature burst out, eyes flaring with primal rage.
He didn't hesitate, he activated Essence Eater, biting directly into its throat.
The kill was instant. A surge of essence liquid flowed into him.
[Ding! Enemy kill, Ravine Lurker-Minor
+100 exp. Essence Absorbed: +1 Stats. ]
"One down. Four to go."
He moved fast now, no hesitation, no fear. His new evolution Monarch Devourer Ant gave him courage, responding like a well-oiled war machine. The second ambusher was already halfway to the surface, but Kai met it with a violent pounce. A mandible clash, a head twist, and another essence drain.
[DING! Enemy kill. +100 exp. Essence Absorbed: +1 stats.]
Meanwhile, the main fight raged. Vex landed a deep slash across the Shadow Lurker's spine, but was hurled back with a shriek of dislocated limbs. The creature now bled thick blue liquid but it was still very much alive.
With only seconds left, Kai finished the last ambusher. He gained a total of five stats points. He looked back at the group.
The Shadow Lurker hissed. Its eyes locked onto Kai now, the only one who had noticed its flank team. The kill of its scouts triggered something primal.
It screamed, and its aura surged.
[DING! Host marked – Targeting Priority Elevated
Warning: Incoming High-Speed Attack.
Evade Immediately! ]
Kai rolled aside, but the shockwave caught his side. His HP dropped from 1000 to 870 in a blink. He slammed into a mossy root and skidded to a stop.
Pain exploded through his chest.
[System Alert: Fractured Exo-Plate – Right Side
Defense lowered 12% until regeneration.]
Gasping, Kai crawled to his feet and whispered, "You want me? Come get me."
He activated Worker's Resilience, his body refueled with temporary power and charged directly at the beast.
As Kai leaps toward the Shadow Spine Lurker, its tail rears back to strike and behind it, unnoticed, a second massive predator emerges from the mists.
[DING! New Threat Detected: Twin-Fanged Ravager – Tier 3]
System Suggestion: RUN or Prepare Defense.
Estimated Arrival: 1 Minutes
Survival Rate: 23%]
Kai cursed. He relayed the message.
Vex was bleeding, still standing. He barked, "Secure the flanks! If we lose this ground, we die."
Kai nodded and sprinted toward the next swell. He would survive. No matter what crawled from this cursed place.
As Kai leapt forward, fueled by the surge of Worker's Resilience, the world around him seemed to blur. Every muscle burned, his cracked exo-plate throbbed with pain, but he didn't slow down. The Shadow Spine Lurker's tail lashed like a whip, its poisonous spines glinting in the misty light. Kai twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike as it sliced through the air where he had been just a second before.
He landed hard, claws skidding across the uneven stone, and launched himself again. His eyes locked onto the beast's underbelly—it's only exposed weakness. Predator's Instinct flashed in his mind, highlighting the vulnerable spot near its rear thorax, just behind its third leg.
But just as he prepared to strike, just as his mandibles opened wide to deliver a lethal Devourer's Bite the air turned cold.
A deep growl echoed from the swirling fog behind the Lurker. Something massive stirred.
Kai froze. The Shadow Spine Lurker did the same. Both predator and prey turned, their instincts overwhelmed by the presence that now crept into the battlefield.